


Eleventh Hour

by HellsPurestDevil



Series: Project Mythicus [5]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda, Hamilton - Miranda (Broadway Cast) RPF
Genre: Barn, Dragons, Gen, Miracle, OC, Snow, Vet, Veterinary Clinic, Wyvern - Freeform, Wyverns, forest, spell, stall, stroke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-06-08
Packaged: 2020-04-12 14:37:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19134073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HellsPurestDevil/pseuds/HellsPurestDevil
Summary: It's the middle of winter and P.M officials are hunting a monster that's leaving people dead in the snow, however it doesn't take a genius to figure out that sometimes it's not monsters you have to worry about……..





	Eleventh Hour

**Author's Note:**

> The Rites of Thaumiel are the Project Mythicus's gateway for a creature to becoming a gaurdian animal. 
> 
> The Rites of Thaumiel is the ultimate test of leadership, strength, and integrity not only for the animal in question, but for its handler as well. The selected Thaumiel in training's merits will be tested; Those who pass will move on to becoming full fledge gaurdian animals. A creature who will serve and protect their handler through all adversisty big or small, who will be willing to put their lives on the line to save their handler should the situation rear its head, and with luck, the handler will do the same.
> 
> First Thaumiel is:
> 
> Cognac:  
> The melanistic Avivatitan (wyvern) known to have a close almost brotherly relationship with his handler. The two of them do seem to see each other as equals, and everyone seems to acknowledge that Cognac is by far one of Thomas’s closest friends, having a bond stronger than any past thaumiels have had with their handlers. Despite being friendly, Cognac also doesn't have much of a problem being blunt, often having a dry sense of humor, and finding it funny to often whack Thomas in the back of the head with his tail should he ever get out of line.

_Somewhere in The White Forest is when it happened_

Cognac didn't know how it had happened...why it happened... or _what_ happened. All he knew was that it had been loud, deafeningly loud, and then there had been pain. He had run in terror and pain, fleeing from whatever it was that had attacked him. All logical thinking had slipped away, replaced by instinct and panic. It had all happened so fast.

They had been out early, enjoying the crisp morning air, enjoying the quiet before the _Alpha's_ who probably thought they had enough " _lollygagging_ " for the day, had made them walk another 8 miles in an effort to find leads into whatever was leaving mauled-up bodies up and down the interstate. Their search originally had led them to the forest they were in now. But early winter snow had covered most of the tracks and scents and they were having difficulty finding anything of value now that it was probably buried under four feet of snow. Cognac had been keeping his head down, beak hard-pressed into the soft powdery snow in an effort to find anything worthwhile, while his rider would gently tug on his bridle in an effort to make sure he didn't run into anyone of the hibernating trees.

But then his faithful companion, who had spent most of the time complaining about the cold-Cognac himself never complained much cause his feather provided just enough insulation to keep away the nip of winter- had suddenly stopped attempting to warm his hands and had taken instead too kicking at his withers, as if startled by something and begging him to move as fast as he could. Then, there had been that loud terrifying noise and something had come close to hitting his rider and had struck the tree behind him, sending slivers of wood and dead bark flying in all directions and now.... the only thing that he knew to do was _run_.

It didn't matter how his feet never caught enough traction in the powdery snow to ever even get enough lift to take flight and leave the area as fast as he could. All he had to do was run.

They had made it to the edge of the tree line and was almost down the embankment leading up to the area of the road the police had sectioned off, when a loud whirring sound had crossed their ears, and just as Cognac had gained enough footing to attempt to fly, a second loud sound had come again. As the wyverns claws continued to carry him away from his attacker, Cognac's mind began to clear. Instinct no longer muddled his brain. He knew that he was hurt, but to what extent? He couldn't tell, but the pain was there and it was very real. He ran onward for some ways, wanting to put enough space between himself and whatever had harmed him.

And then things had gone from bad to worse.

Unbidden, Cognac's limbs had slipped from underneath him. With a muted whine, he and his rider went sprawling into the snow. As he had felt himself fall, his rider threw himself sideways, managing to avoid being crushed by his bulk and flailing limbs. Due to cognac's final effort to protect his rider they had managed to move most of the way out from the main path, missing trees with sharp low hanging branches by inches, as the pair tumbled, becoming showered with clods of wet mud and dusty snow before landing harshly onto the pavement. A slow low whine of stress and pain wrenched from the black wyverns beak as he crashed heavily onto the cold hard ground. He lay there, disoriented for a few moments, before he craned his neck around to see the extent of his injury. It took all he could just to lift his head. He couldn't see the injury, but blood was flowing freely from behind his forewing...near his heart. Then he choked. Blood filled his mouth and he hack-spat it out. It ran out through his nose, spattering the ground in red. He lost his sight and with it, the rest of his energy, large head landing in the snow with a crunch, pink tongue lolling.

______

Snow, melting from the heat of his jacket, still poured down his shoulders as Thomas shook his head, trying to regain himself as he checked to make sure there were no broken bones. Then he froze. Turning his head, he took in the chaos. The deep tracks they had made in the snow, the deep groove in the earth where they had toppled over each other.

He then saw him. The dark shape sprawled at an odd angle, his neck thrown back and legs stiff and sticking out. As he watched he saw the midnight hide lift and felt more than heard a faint gasp of breath. Feeling his own breath catch he scrambled towards him, his boots slipping in the mud as he struggled to retain his balance. Finally reaching the body of his beloved mount, he crouched over him, gently stroking his head as the wyverns eyes rolled, snorting gasps.

A loud whirring sound had come up from Thomas's left side as he and his wounded mount lay in the middle of the road. An ATV had come down from the tree line, bouncing and doing little hops over rubble before finally coming to a standstill in the middle of the road. Two figures, one-a man- driving and the other one-another man- sitting on the back looked at the pair. Both were dressed in what looked like winter camo and were wearing black Balaclavas. The figure on the back looked to be wearing a _**Winchester '73 Carbine Rifle**_ on his shoulder, which he took off slowly and as if he had no care in the world, aimed at the two.

Thomas waited for the shot, but it never came, instead towards his right, flashing headlights that gleamed off the water of the melting snow on the road caught his attention, and as he turned his head back to the left, the pair on the ATV sped away back into the forest.

Thomas wanted to tell them about the men on the ATV. But when paramedics had found the pair, the wyvern was still clinging to life as the man cradled his head, whispering quiet nothings in his ear, appearing to try to soothe him and yet seeking comfort for himself, even as blood dripped from the wyverns beak.

The vets and paramedics tried to separate the pair but after a shrill frantic scream from the wyvern, having been torn from the only familiarity he had in the situation and after a series of harsh curses and high voice raising from its handler, they had agreed to examine the two together. Thomas turned out to be fine, which was a miracle given he was almost crushed. Only minor bumps and bruises. The same, however, could not be said for his mount. Not long after his examination the Vets had managed to lift the giant's body into a truck and after the soaked man climbed up next to him, it tore off towards the medical barn. Inside the trailer, the animal lay still on the hay covered floor, still and silent, save for the horrifying gurgling sound that seem to be coming out of him.

The man who sat in the trailer with them, had filled up a syringe with a clear liquid, before putting the needle directly into Cognac's hip. The animal whined, his crest pressing flat against his head. Long fingers thread through the wyvern's head and neck feathers, soft words were muttered and choked. Thomas's eyes burned because of the tears he tried to push down.

He can not cry. If he cries he would admit that Cognac was not fine.

_Would never be fine again._

No, He couldn't do that, not right now.

_____

A Police escort had gotten them to the medic barn in little to no time, but in the short hour Cognac had arrived at the White Glass Vet Reserve Facility, he felt like it was the end for him.

He had encountered people before but never had he been surrounded by them, nor had he ever gotten a shot by them that would make his legs feel all wonky and weak, his mind dizzy and his senses slow. He was put into a room with very harsh blue light. The male wasn't used to this treatment and was already feeling his eyes getting all dry and painful. But despite the brief lucidity the animal was in, The wyvern still gave it a mighty kick or two with his clawed foot showing his strength but due to the shot he received earlier and whatever had happened to him before, he was unable to truly fight. He simply laid there watching the human beings wandering around him like flies; his nostrils aching from the uncomfortable smell of medication and sterile air.

A few humans exchanged words, there was a sudden prick in his left flank, then the world turned dark again.

____

In the short hour _Thomas_ had arrived at the White Glass Vet Reserve Facility, he felt like it was the end for him.

There had already been officials there, waiting to question him when they got there, and evidently they wouldn't take no for an answer when Thomas declined to talk to them until after his mount had gotten out of surgery. He did not like the look on their faces when he told them about the two men on the ATV, how they were dressed, how even when Thomas had no means to defend himself and was wearing his company attire, how the one guy sitting in the back seat, still pulled his Rifle on him and Cognac. When they asked no more questions and they said they would look into it, Thomas thought that was the end of it. So he sat back and watched as the clock ticked on by, very slowly. He was so focused he didn't even notice the hours tick by.

By the end of the second hour, Cognac was finally out of surgery. They had done all they could do for him and He was placed in ICU with round the clock monitoring. It was in this wing of the vet clinic that Angelica had found him, looking through the large glass window into the stall on the opposite side.

Thomas was not an outwardly emotional man. Angie had come to learn that quite quickly in the time frame they had worked together. It was part of where his various set of nicknames came from, given to him by the men he hunted and trained with. She knew that too, so it did not surprise her to find Thomas solemn and quiet, not even bothering to pay attention to her as she sat beside him even as she tried to make small talk, which was never her strongest suit to begin with. So she didn't take it too heart when still he paid no mind to her. So in the end, she just watched the stall with him, unable to take her eyes off the padded stall with the still and drugged body of her partners wyvern.

_____

It was the next tense 24 hours that held emotions high. Thomas refused to leave the vet hospital and it seemed the wyvern was holding on to life with a tenacity that had the nurses and staff in awe. Thomas had spent all the time he was allowed to have, sitting with him, feeling the warmth of his body, the tickle of his feathers and the slow beat of his heart. Both he and the animal seemed to gain strength from these moments of contact and as the first day drew to a close Cognac's eyes opened for the first time since his fall.

Screaming aloud he thrashed his legs and tail, struggling to pull himself upright as the vet techs knelt on his neck to keep him down, not wanting to risk him tearing out his stitching or hurting himself even more. It was then that Thomas had bolted through the door to fall next to his head and with the familiar smell of the man and the crooning voice calming him, Cognac stilled and with a great sigh shoved his nose in Thomas's lap and closed his eyes again. Leaving the vets awed and recommending to their own higher up that Thomas be allowed to stay with the animal long past visiting hours as long as he didn't get in the way.

That first week never seemed to end, countless tests and checkups to ensure the animals health was up to speed as he stood again on his own forelimbs was all the talk amongst the staff. It seemed he was making good progress, by the end of the first week he was eating normally, and was even allowed a little time in the exercise yard as a way to keep the animal from becoming too bored, since he seemed to like to tear and pluck at his IV's when he was cooped up for too long.

Things seemed to have been going fine, to the point that Thomas became comfortable enough that he didn't see the need to be there on a constant basis and instead found himself at his desk a little more each day, waiting for the day when he could go back on field duties with his mount.

Then Thomas had gotten a call starting the second week. The week they would have begun discussing the plans of allowing Cognac to leave the vets permanently.

 _Only_.....Cognac had taken a tumble in the exercise yard that morning and had not gotten back up yet.

The call had him rushing back. It was there that the vets had told him of their findings. And Thomas still remembered how his blood went cold when they told him, even in the present day.

A stroke

One that had so completely felled the beast that his chances of survival were said to be below the 10% line. Blood thinners were administered in the hopes of preventing another clot and he was once again placed in ICU with round the clock monitoring. Much like the first week since his shooting, that first week after his stroke never seemed to end. Unlike it however, more countless tests and checkups to ensure the animals health hadn't been the only things discussed. Nervous discussions at his inability to walk properly or stand without support became the main concern, brain damage was never mentioned out loud but for the nervous handler he could almost feel the doctors begin to doubt.

But Thomas tried to never let it bother him as he spent hours upon hours with his friend, stroking through the soft silky feathers, as the animal hung his head, listening to the gentle breaths and watching his crest droop as he relaxed, weight borne by the sling that kept him upright. He never outwardly cried in public but a few times, he found himself pressing his forehead against the animals, allowing his tears to drip down the wyvern's beak as he begged the animal to try and stand, to just hold on a little longer.

It was towards the end of the second week that the hospital vets recommended euthanasia.

The animals progress by then, had been, at best, minimal and he was still unable to stand unaided for long periods of time. It almost seemed as if the stroke had felled his fighting spirit and left naught but a shell of the fiery personality that had blossomed in the past year in a half. By then Thomas had been exhausting all his options, he knew it was just a matter of time before the vets would go above his head and pleas to allow the animal more time, and recommend the option putting him down to his boss. But Thomas didn't want to give up yet.

He tried to think of things, things that could help. The idea of going through the old books they had hoarded up back at the building in security storage had crossed his mind a few times, since he knew many would have healing spells or such stored away in them. But in his searches for the right ones, he found his saddening lack of time against him. Many of the spells took years to master. Some others would take days he did not have to conjure up.

He would not have the time.

________

As the fourteenth day drew to a close, the vets had finally sat Thomas and Angelicas boss, William, and Angelica down, mindful of the man who slept with the sleeping wyvern, and began to discuss future plans

"...though he is still alive and has shown life, his progress during this past week has left much to be desired. Normally we like to have the animal able to stand alone and walk by this point and we believe there has been too much damage done and he may never fully recover. It is in our opinion that the best course of action is to end his suffering as his quality of life is almost none. It is unnecessary to prolong the inevitable and in doing so you only make it harder on yourselves to do it in the long run..."

Williams lips tightened, his hand squeezing the bulb of his walking-cane as he picked apart the vets words carefully.

"Don't you think because of his history and his personality he deserves more time? He may yet improve and I'm unwilling to destroy him when he is still alive." He said, clenched his hands, as Angie turned her head to watch her partner, who slept curled by the animal in question, who since this morning was allowed out of the sling and could lay on the floor with his neck curled around his handler.

"Sir you must understand, though he is a remarkable animal, even he cannot undo the damage done to his body, he was still weak from his previous injuries. If it is brain damage it is far kinder to relieve his misery instead of keeping him alive but unable to enjoy the freedom he enjoyed until now." The vet shook his head, "It's a hard choice but you have sometimes to make it"

"Don't talk to me about tough choices" William had said, clicking his cane harshly on the floor "have a few more years under your belt and you'll understand the concept of _Tough Choices."_ William stilled, then took a breath, turned his attention to his best workers then to the animal who laid on the floor. He thought long and hard about the animal, about his relationship with Thomas, about Thomas's reaction when the concept of euthanasia came up, about how he spent the last 3 nights tearing apart the book room in a frenzy, looking high and low for anything that could his friend.

Ultimately, he sighed, and while he looked at Angelica intently, he muttered

"I've come to a decision.."

________

On the fifteenth day, the decision came to fruition.

That afternoon, Thomas was ordered, by William, to leave the stall and return to his office. Despite his begging and pleading to give Cognac more time, then to stay with the animal when it came time to end his suffering, William had been forceful in his decisions.

He allowed Thomas only a few more moments to say his goodbyes, So Thomas sat curled into a ball at the animals feet. His face looked troubled and his eyes were red, but his voice was just as steady and calm as ever, as he whispered encouragements and soft words, while he rubbed the animals neck and muzzle, his gentle hands rubbing up and down the length of his neck. Slowly the wyvern opened his eyes again and craned his neck to lick over Thomas' cheek. It is as if he wanted to say that his friend should not be sad. He would go nowhere. He is just tired.

_So.. so.. tired._

The wyvern took in a deep breath and closed his eyes again, letting his head lay in straw again. Thomas brushed over his neck and gripped into his feathers before pushing his head against Cognacs neck one last time

After the man left, William had taken his place, sitting besides the animal as Angelica and the vets came in, the vets with injections in their hands

Seeming to sense their presence, Cognac raised his head from the floor. They had found no need to place him in a sling this time, and with those fiery orange eyes seemed to stare into the pairs souls. Angelica felt her breath hitch, normally she was afraid of the animal, though she would never admit it out loud. But right now she found herself unafraid, only found pity for the animal. After offering him her hand she felt him sigh, leaning into her like she was the most trusted friend he had. She held him as the vets administered the drugs, and feeling his eyes close and his head droop she found herself with tears in her eyes.

______

It had been one of the hardest decisions of her life, weighing up her love for the animal, his fighting spirit, Thomas's determination to see him well, and not wanting to cause more suffering. In the end she gave in and let her heart decide.

And William did too.

Tranquilizing the animal had been heartbreaking, his sad eyes had left her feeling like they were putting him through more pain and suffering than he could endure but if there was one place he would recover, or die, it was at home. So the prone body of the animal was drove back to the P.M building and he was installed in one of the padded stalls in the rehabilitation barn. Avery, one of the heads of the veterinarian department had been livid of the idea. She remembered the rant he had given her and William when they brought the trailer up to the barn, about the dangers of transporting the animal in its weakened state, and about how they were all mad to put the animal through more shit then it was already put through. She knew why he was ranting, or at least one of the _other_ reasons why he was ranting. But it didn't matter, all she needed was him to keep the secret of Cognac still being alive to himself and keep the animal alive long enough for her and Williams plan to go through. And through gritted teeth, he agreed.

The next few days had been challenging at best. To their great unease, the next day after his transport, infections has started too set in his skin. The sheer time he had spent in the harness and the hard floor had caused bedsores, and they soon ruptured. The infection had been cleared, but it seemed to have taken what was left of the fighting spirit out of the animal, and it wasn't long before Cognacs condition deteriorated.

When they had gotten the animal stable enough, Angelica and William put their plan in motion. It was the middle of the night when Angelica had opened the doors for William so he could enter the barn. Trying not to disturb and thus awaken any of the other barn occupants, she lead him to Cognacs stall, where they stood staring at the sleeping animal.

It was already a miracle he survived the travel and the surgery. If he made it through this, it would be something entirely different.

While William never officially had a name for the act they were about to perform, he briefly mentioned how it was something that Knights would use on their own steeds in old Medieval European times under secret, away from prying eyes.

 _Under secret?_ She guessed that was why Thomas had never found it in dozens of books that he had shoved his nose into these last few days. How William knew she wouldn't know, nor would she ever ask, it was just another thing about William they would never know.

Giving his helper for the evening some directions on what to do, William made Angelica get a glass from the kitchen area in the building and told her too fill it with water. Quickly she performed her task and returned to the stable to get to the next part. William then requested Angelica to mix her blood with the water. Well she had to admit, this all sounded really shady and weird to her, her swiss knife was still in her pocket and she quickly made a cut in the palm of her hand without even hesitating. Which made it bleed pretty badly.

 _Whoops_... maybe there was no need to make such a big one. Oh well, She held her hand above the glass, letting the blood drip into it. Looking at it with a disgusted expression.

 _He was going to drink this_?

When she was done, she stared at Cognac for a minute or two, while William whispered words over the glass. Did she want him to keep suffering for a long while if this didn't work? William had promised that he would personally see to having the animal put down if it didn't work. But was it the right thing to do ? He didn't even have a choice if she did this.

But then again neither did she.

"Alright.. can you lift his head please? " she said while giving her boss a somewhat terrified look. William held his head in the position just as she asked, which was hard enough already with a nearly dead animal. Carefully, she opened his mouth just enough to pour the water/blood mix in, pushing his head even more backwards after that to force him to swallow it.

After that, sinking her head down, She placed her back against the wall and laid his head there, resting on her lap. Still breathing. William told her to wait now, as he bandanged her hand. And wait she did, stroking the soft feathers of the animals head,

As William left, Angie murmured softly to the sleeping animal " You can rest now boy.. It's okay.. you will come back." Even when resting the animal seemed to understand what she said, and it wasn't long before he was huffing out his last breath. It terrified her for a moment to watch the animals chest and sides rise and fall one last time, but William had warned her not to panic, and the only thing she could do was pray that he would indeed start breathing again like William had promised.

And heal without suffering too much.

_____

The next morning, Avery had walked into the stall.

Angie still slept with Cognacs head in her lap, but the animal was still, just like how Avery had found him last night when he went to check on him. To his immense shock and sadness the animal appeared to have died the night before, and while part of him felt horrible for saying it, he was happy the animal was gone. Since he no longer had to deal with the notion of his superiors forcing him to live in such misery.

Nor did Avery have to deal with the concept of prolonging his suffering.

Rapping his clipboard harshly on the wood of the door to wake Angelica up, he announced his presence, then pulled the best doctor schtick he could pull of. He cleared his throat.

"Time to say goodbye Ms. Schuyler. We've tried everything possible. But in the end it seems he has sadly passed away."

Angelica woke slowly. A smile gracing her features, she yawned, stretched, then gave her wake up call a smile. "Morning, huh goodbye ? Why, Dear Mr Avery, he's just sleeping." She said stroking the head that laid in her lap.

Avery shook his head, pressing his glasses up higher on his nose, " _No_ , Ms. Schuyler, he is not. I am afraid he died this morning, I checked his pulse when you were asleep. There was none." He motioned his hand towards the door "Now will you _please leave_ , I need my team in here to take care of the bo-"

Avery stopped his sentence short, his arm suspended in the air as he pointed to the way out of the stall. Something had caught his eye.

" _What in the He_ -"

Angelica just smiled coyly, as she continued to stroke and scratch the wyverns neck, while it contently thumped its tail against the hay covered hardwood floor.

"You were saying?"

Avery couldn't believe his eyes, he even spit wiped his glasses to make sure what he was seeing was truly there.

_It was_

He was stunned. He stammered, he choked on his words. Then he fell silent before he finally left, muttering incoherently about how he was gonna explain this to his team, and _how it wasn't possible._

Angie smiled as he left, still softly petting Cognacs head.

\------

The reunion between Thomas and Cognac a few days later was one of the most heart-warming moments the facility had seen in a while. The _now_ happy, healthy but very nearly frantic Cognac had been all too keen to see his master once again and had struggled in his harness, trying to reach him before Thomas had any idea what was going on, before Thomas ran to him and threw his arms around his neck and hugged him tight.

Of course Thomas was a little upset about how William and Angelica had been lying to him about Cognac, after spending almost a week and a half thinking him to be dead. Plus when he questioned as to how it was possible for his friend to still be alive, despite everything that has been wrong with him. They never said what they did, so he had no clue as to what miracle they performed that seemed to make the last four weeks more than a distant memory. But at that moment while he buried his head in Cognacs neck, taking in the earthy smell of the wyvern into his lungs, he didn't care, he had his friend back

When Cognac had opened his eyes again to stare at his handler, Thomas couldn't help but smile, happy to see the fire return to his friends stark flame-golden eyes. Eyes he had all been to afraid to never see again.

"There you are. I.." The man's breathe seemed to catch in his throat and he was making a strange noise. Nearly like a choking sound behind the soft cooing he made as he pat the wyverns muzzle. The sound had made Cognac wanna wag his tail and shake his wings to show his master that there was no reason to cry, that he was fine now, that they could forget about what happened. He had forgotten already.

" ** _I told you, you would be fine_.**"

 _Yes. Yes it was true. His handler **had** said that, he remembered that much from this whole ordeal_  
  
 _And you know what?_  
  
That was all he needed to remember.  
  
After all he had a wonderful handler. One He was perfectly fine with living a bit longer for.


End file.
